Video bid to clear ex-soldier convicted of Orkney murder

A FAMILY video is at the heart of a new bid to overturn the conviction of a former soldier found guilty of one of Scotland’s most notorious murders.

Campaigners have suggested the investigation was innacurate [STILL FROM FAMILY VIDEO]

Black Watch veteran Michael Ross is serving a life sentence for shooting waiter Shamsuddin Mahmood, at an Indian restaurant, in Orkney, in 1994.

The 15-year-old Army cadet was the police’s only suspect although there was no forensic evidence to link him to the crime and witnesses failed to pick him out of an identification parade.

Ross, who went on to be decorated for bravery in Iraq, was eventually convicted in 2008 following a cold case review by Northern Constabulary detectives, who concluded the killing was racially motivated.

However, campaigners now believe there were several flaws in the investigation – including marked differences in height and build between Ross and descriptions of the balaclava-clad shooter.

According to witnesses, the armed man who burst into the Mumutaz Tandoori, in Kirkwall, was between 5’ 8” and 6’ tall.

Shona Stamper, who was in the restaurant, said the gunman “was a big guy, like a wrestler,” while another man told the BBC’s Crimewatch programme the suspect had the physique of a “bodybuilder”.

People who saw the man police believed to be the shooter before and after the murder with his head uncovered estimated his age at somewhere between mid-20s and 30.

Last night, Ross’s supporters released previously unseen video footage taken just weeks before the murder in a bid to highlight his slight build and short stature.

In it, the teenager is shown walking with relatives and family friends – including his father, Eddy, who is 5ft 9ins and appears to be significantly taller than his son.

Karen Foubister, of Orkney, who is helping to lead the campaign, said: “It is inconceivable to me that Michael could have committed this crime at the age of 15.

“I have not met anybody that knows Michael who will say a bad word about him. I have found him to be a very warm and open person and there is no bitterness or anger in him despite what has happened to him.

“The first time I met Michael, it struck me that he is not tall for a man. I remembered the initial descriptions of the killer released by the police said he was 5ft 8ins to 6ft tall. Michael is still only 5ft 7ins now.

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Father of two Ross, 35, has always maintained his innocence, although he has already failed in one appeal bid

“His friends in Shotts Prison and his Army pals sometimes tease him about his height. There is no way he could have ever been mistaken for approaching 6ft at 15.”

The case is currently being examined by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, following a submission from Ross’s lawyers in 2012.

Now a second tranche of evidence, including the video, has been submitted by campaign group Justice for Michael Ross, led by Ms Foubister and Ross’s cousin, Craig Thomson.

Father of two Ross, 35, has always maintained his innocence, although he has already failed in one appeal bid. In a message from prison, he said: “After the extra submission to the SCCRC from the campaign group, it is encouraging to know that the Commission is going to carry out further investigation into my case.”

Yesterday, Eddy Ross, a former policeman who was jailed for impeding the investigation into the murder to protect his son, said: “All that we have heard emanating from the SCCRC has been relatively positive and has provided a little hope in order to continue what has been a long and arduous journey for Michael and his family.

“Hopefully, all the efforts will eventually lead to Michael’s release.”

Mr Ross, 62, failed to reveal to police colleagues he possessed bullets matching the ammunition used to kill Mr Mahmood, a popular 26-year-old from Bangladesh.

Ross, who was a top marksman as a teenager and went on to become an Army sniper, was seen wearing a balaclava and performing “commando” moves in woods around two weeks before the shooting.

After being convicted of the “savage, merciless and pointless” murder in October 2008, he dramatically leapt from the dock and was overpowered as he tried to flee Glasgow’s High Court.

He was trying to reach a car he had left stocked with weapons and a “survival kit” - although Ross insists he was merely planning to “live off the land”.